Seeing what needs to be changed, updated, refreshed, and relearned can be challenging for a busy dental office. Take a class, make some sleep appliances, and set that aside as a system and move on to some other learning challenge. Does that describe your sleep breathing practice? Do you consistently see great results or are there patients you’d rather not find on the … [Read more...]

Finding the Starting Jaw Position
One challenge, and point of many discussions, is the starting position for oral appliance therapy in the management of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). A question that often comes up is “where do I set the first jaw position?” If I had the answer to this question, I would look like a genius. We seem to forget that our bite position, whether it … [Read more...]

In this edition, I continue our journey into the tangled maze of Medicare. In our last article, Courtney and I looked at the Medicare regulations associated with opting out, in this article we will explore the use of Advance Beneficiary Notices (ABN’s) and Dental Sleep Medicine (DSM) practitioner’s enrollment in Medicare Part B. Again, I want to thank Courtney for her amazing … [Read more...]

Successful dental and medical treatment depends on several variables working together harmoniously:
Agreement on the Desired Outcome
Accurate Diagnosis
Selecting the Appropriate Treatment For The Diagnosis [Medical Decision Making]
Treatment Recommendation and Case Acceptance by the Patient
Patient Compliance (Adherence to Therapy)
Payment from Third Parties … [Read more...]

The average dental practice in 2017 is full of undiagnosed and untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) sufferers. The first challenge is uncovering your undiagnosed patients. This can easily be done using readily available questionnaires and doing comprehensive oral exams. Once identified, the process becomes harder. Convincing patients to undergo a sleep study is the first … [Read more...]

Physicians recently surpassed Dentists with the highest suicide rate among all professions. Why? Many MDs are burnt out, have marriages on the rocks, and have incredible college debts looming over them. With hospital mergers, consolidations, and CMS cutbacks, they are losing control and feeling the reimbursement squeeze like never before. They are forced to pick up shifts on … [Read more...]

I am not a jogger. I DESPISE jogging. I have a 0.0 sticker on my car. That’s funny because most triathletes and marathoners like to brag about their mileage. Me? I like to brag about the fact that I do NOT jog. So why is it that I love Dental Sleep Medicine? DSM is kind of like a marathon. You must be patient, you have to build endurance and you must train your “body,” or team. … [Read more...]

How does the dentist with a deep interest in becoming expert in providing sleep disorder care stay on the right path? The simple answer is to learn from true sleep medicine experts and study the topic as if it is a passion. It takes time, exposure and serious commitment. Like all hard-earned expertise, it is not as easy as you may first be led to believe.
In recent years, I … [Read more...]

Oral appliance therapy is not only a lifesaver but can also save relationships. Hence many dental offices find it highly rewarding to help patients manage obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Most medical plans offer coverage for custom-made oral appliances, and it’s helpful to prepare for insurance requests for paperwork. The following Q & A provides answers to the … [Read more...]

Your patients don’t want to feel overwhelmed. Your team doesn’t, either! Leading your patient to know more about what you know while you learn about them is what Pride Institute believes is the best way to form a long-term relationship based on value, commitment, and accountability. My team gets asked “How?” by dentists all the time.
One of my favorite quotes that helps to … [Read more...]